


Friends

by tinglingworld



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-14
Updated: 2014-07-14
Packaged: 2018-02-08 21:34:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1956921
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tinglingworld/pseuds/tinglingworld
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Belle has always been the most forgiving person in Storybrooke, why would Zelena be an exception from that?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Friends

**Author's Note:**

> Based on this post http://wickedcleavage.tumblr.com/post/91515482394/tinglingworld-capsuponatime-3-14-the though it took kind of it's own way.

_After imprisoning Zelena, life in Storybrooke slowly went back to normal- or at least as normal as it could be in a town full of fairytale characters._

_The Charmings as well as Emma and Regina were still trying to figure out how to deal with Zelena exactly, because she couldn't possibly keep being locked up at the sherifff's station forever._

_So while they were having their meetings at town hall, Ruby, as deputy, was on duty to have an eye on Zelena at the station._

 

„Ruby, seriously, I can do it! It's not like there's anything hard about sitting at the station and glancing over to the cell every once in a while to make sure she's not gnawing herself through the bars.“

„Belle, don't you understand? She's dangerous!“

„She was stripped off all of her powers. She's hardly a threat anymore.“

Belle stepped closer to her best friend, taking the taller brunette's hands into her own.

„Look, I know you're only worried about me, but you really don't have to be. I can handle Zelena. And I know how much it means to you to have your wolf-time every month. So let me watch over Zelena and you go howl at the moon. You only have two nights left anyway.“

 

The doubts were all too visible on Ruby's face, but finally she sighed and nodded.

„Fine, but call Emma if anything is happening.“

Belle smiled.

„I will, promise. And now go!“

She let go of her friend's hand and instead turned her around at her shoulders to push her down the hallway they had been talking in and towards the station's front doors.

„Be care...“

„Yeah, yeah, I know. For god's sake, now leave!“, Belle laughed and finally Ruby obeyed and left the station to directly head for the woods. It was already dusk anyway, even if it only was 4:30pm, but winter had taken ahold of Storybrooke.

Watching her friend take off into the woods and hearing a familiar howl only seconds later, Belle smiled to herself and turned around to get back into the warmth of the station.

 

She headed for the main office to check on Zelena before she would leave for the day. After all, even though there was always someone there watching her during the days, she wasn't that big of a threat that anyone would actually make the effort to put up with nightshifts.

„Well, look at that. The bookworm, and all alone.“, Zelena's voice greeted her as soon as she entered the room.

„Hello, to you too, Zelena.“, she answered, not even acknowledging the insult in the redhead’s words.

 

„Where has your friend taken off to? The wolf-girl?“

Zelena had been locked up at the station long enough to have learned quite a lot about the town's inhabitants. During her first days in the cell half of the townspeople wanted to take off her head and even though that savior-girl Emma and her annoyingly happy parents, as well as her dear sister Regina, had prevented that from happening, the station's walls were not as thick as everyone seemingly believed them to be. So she had overheard a lot of conversations held in the hallway or the adjoining rooms, to know quite a lot about the people's lives -her daytime guard's wolf-ego being one of them.

 

„The woods.“, Belle answered simply, „it's full moon.“

„Is it?“

The redhead's voice sounded honestly surprised and Belle turned around to actually focus on the woman in the cell.

„Yeah.“, she replied, stepping closer.

„Then it has already been two weeks.“

Zelena's words were quiet and Belle was sure she was talking to herself more than to her. Counting back, Belle realized that Zelena was right. It had been two weeks since they defeated her and locked her in the cell.

She suddenly felt bad for the witch. Belle knew all too well how it was to be locked up somewhere, without anything to do or anyone to talk to.

Remembering something she spun around to walk over to Ruby's desk where she had left her bag earlier.

Browsing through it, she quickly found what she was looking for.

 

„What's that?“, Zelena asked when the bookworm approached her again with, what else would it be, a book in her hands.

„It's a book, obviously.“

She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the stupidity of that answer, but kept silent and waited for the petite brunette's next move.

„It's a copy of _The Neverending Story_. I've already read it a couple of times, so you can have it.“

Zelena scanned the other woman thoroughly but couldn't find anything suspicious about her, so she decided to straight out ask.

„Why would you do that? Give me one of your books?“

„I know how it is to be locked up. I have been, too, most days of my life actually. So I thought it might help you pass the time. Now do you want it, or not?“

She held out the book through the bars and after a moment of hesitation, Zelena made her decision and got up to take it.

 

Belle smiled when the redhead got up and took the book from her hand. Waiting for some kind of reaction, but getting none, she finally sighed.

„You're welcome.“, she said, before walking back to the desk and taking her bag.

Standing in the doorframe she turned around a last time.

„Do you want me to leave the lights on, so you can read it?“

It took a moment before she got an answer.

„Yes.“, the redhead finally murmured.

Belle nodded and left the main office, switching off the lights only in the hallway and left the station.

 

…………

 

It became quite a ritual, Belle bringing Zelena new books to read every now and then.

Ruby officially declared her insane every time she would show up at the station with a new book in her hands.

Belle didn't really care though. She found that Zelena was actually quite good of a conversational partner and every time she brought another book, which was quite often, because Zelena didn't really have anything else to do than reading, they talked about the stories and characters and could indulge in never-ending discussions about them.

 

It was a Thursday afternoon and Zelena had just settled down on the bed again to take a closer look at the book Belle had brought today, when the station's door's opened and Regina, Emma, the Charmings and Ruby entered the room.

„What's happening?“, Belle immediately asked, getting up from her usual spot on the visitor's couch and facing her friends.

Zelena was suspicious, too, but didn't move from her position. She wouldn't give any of them the chance to see how much she actually cared about what decision they made about her.

She believed it would be her dear sister, who would give her the news, whatever they might be, but it was Emma who stepped up to the cell's bars.

But instead of giving her some endless speech, she simply pulled out a key from her pocket and with a quiet 'click' the cell's door sprung open.

„What?“, Zelena heard Belle ask in surprise and once again decided to remain indifferent herself.

She only looked at the blonde, waiting.

„We came to a conclusion concerning you“, she pulled out some strange looking black bracelet and held it in front of Zelena's eyes.

„You're free to move around town, but will wear this bracelet at all times, so we can keep track of your whereabouts at all times. You're not allowed to leave town and if I were you, I wouldn't try to either, because after all these curses none of us knows how leaving will effect everyone's memories.“

Before she could react Emma had snapped the bracelet around her left wrist and Zelena could feel the magic being activated inside of it. Taking it off would be impossible, even if she wanted to.

 

That being said the group left the station as quickly as they came and left behind a confused Belle and an even more confused Zelena.

„Well that was... unexpected.“ Belle finally managed to say, before she turned her attention back to Zelena.

„But anyway, that's great, you're free to leave!“

She watched the redhead picking up the book and slowly stepping though the cell's now open door, her expression leaving no doubt that she was still suspicious about her sudden freedom.

„Well...“, she eventually said and Belle found she looked a little lost, standing there in front of the cell.

„Would you like me to drive you home?“, Belle asked.

„Drive?“

„Oh yeah, right.”, she realized her mistake, “You know what, just, follow me.“, with a smile she turned around to pick up her bag and leave the station, seeing in the corner of her eye that the redhead actually followed her.

 

….................

 

„Belle, are you there?“

„Yes, just a second!“

Zelena heard noises in the backroom of the pawnshop and a moment later, Belle appeared in its doorframe.

„Zelena, hey. I didn't expect you here.“

„Yeah, neither did I.“

She looked around Mr.Gold's shop and couldn't help the disdainful expression that settled on her features.

“So why are you here?”

The redhead focused her gaze on Belle now, lifting her eyes from the shop’s interior. She still pretty much wanted to take revenge on Rumplestiltskin for playing her like he did, but she had to admit to herself, that she appreciated her odd friendship with Belle too much to risk it by actually acting on these thoughts.

“I ran out of books.”, she eventually answered Belle’s question.

The look that the petite brunette gave her told her that her friend believed there to be more than that. There kind of was, too, but Zelena wasn’t going to admit that just yet.

Instead she just continued talking:

“And since you’re the town’s librarian, I thought I’d come and ask if I could get a library card- if I’m not too much of a criminal for that, of course.”

 

Belle rolled her eyes at the redhead.

They had become something like friends to each other over the last weeks since Zelena got discharged from the cell. It was an odd relationship and nothing like the open, warmhearted one with Ruby, and it would possibly never be after the history she shared with Rumplestiltskin, but Belle still found herself valuing it highly.

But though the town came to slowly realize that there was no threat to be seen in the witch anymore, Zelena still wouldn’t let go of the topic.

Also Belle sensed that there was more to the redhead’s visit, but didn’t push her to tell. She had already made her experiences that pushing lead nowhere with the hot-headed woman.

“Technically the library isn’t open at the moment”, she therefore replied, but already reached for her coat, “But I’ll make an exception.”

Passing Zelena she left the store and waited for her to catch up so that she could lock it.

They walked the short way over to the library in silence, though Zelena gave off an agitation that left Belle without doubts that there really was something more on her mind.

 

Zelena kept quiet the whole time while Belle opened the library’s doors and went to the front desk to get out the papers for a library card.

The sheer quantity of books in this room was overwhelming and for a moment Zelena even forgot that she needed to talk about something else than books. Back in Oz, or even in the Enchanted Forest. She never was much of a reader, there had always been more pressuring things on her mind, but since Belle had started bringing her books, that had changed completely and Zelena was actually thankful for that.

“So now you only need to sign here.”

Her friend’s words pulled her out of her thoughts and she blinked a few times before she realized what she had been asked to do.

Signing her name in the small box she looked up at Belle, from whose expression she knew exactly, that the brunette **knew**.

 

“Okay. Fine. I didn’t only come for the library card.”, Zelena finally admitted and Belle grinned widely.

“Didn’t you?”, she couldn’t help herself from replying playfully , and earned herself an eye-rolling but also one of the redhead’s rare smiles.

Belle found herself being oddly proud about the fact that she, as the only person in town, knew how to talk to Zelena and push her buttons just right.

Now, though, they both sat down on the small couch, that Belle had saved from the bulky waste a few weeks ago and forced grumpy to put up in the library.

 

“I think it’s time for me to talk to Regina.”, Zelena eventually said and tried not to sound as insecure as she felt about this.

“You mean, about your past?”

“Yeah. I guess it’s time to overcome the… envy… and actually listen to her side of the story as well. I mean, I talked and apologized to you, too, right?”

The words still sounded crazy in her head, but she felt like it was the right thing to do.  
Seeing Regina around town, almost always smiling, together with her son and Emma, and sometimes even with Snow White and her prince, made her long for that kind of easy acceptance, too. It wasn’t the same nagging envy that she felt all these years before, but it was a longing that she couldn’t ignore either.

From what she knew, Regina had done terrible things but still she was at the head of this town, accepted by everyone and seemingly loved and happy with her family.

If that was possible for the Evil Queen, shouldn’t it be too for the Wicked Witch?

 

“Do you want me to help you set up that conversation?”, Belle asked carefully, not even acknowledging that the redhead still felt guilty for what she did to her by controlling Rumple.

She was positively surprised that Zelena had trusted her with that much information about her feelings, it was a first in their friendship and she was determined to not ruin that now and definitely not over things she had long forgiven her for.

“That would be nice.”

Belle nodded, slightly relieved.

“Okay. I’ll talk to her, tell her what you told me.”

She gave the redhead a hopefully assuring smile.

 

Nodding Zelena bit her lip from asking the question that was bugging her for the past days. It was just so not like her to talk about all of this to anyone. But in the end her doubts won and she asked anyway.

“Do you think Regina’d be willing to talk to me?”

It only took Belle a second to nod in reply.

“Absolutely. Remember that first night at the station? Ruby told me that Regina came to visit you. She told you, that she’d give you a second chance.”

“Hmm…”

“And she **will** give it to you, if you ask for it, I promise.”

“She really has changed, hasn’t she?”

Thinking about the scenes she observed back when Regina was the Evil Queen, she said that last question more to herself than to the woman next to her.

Belle answered, though, and brought Zelena’s attention back to her.

“She has. But so have you.”

The smile that the brunette gave her actually touched her more than she would like to admit and she bit her lip to keep it from trembling, or turning into a sheepish smile, she wasn’t quite sure.

Instead she answered: “I guess I have.” , and after a moment of silence added, “Thank you, Belle, for giving me _The Neverending Story_ back then. And… well, for everything else, too.”

 

Belle reached for the redhead’s hand and squeezed it for a moment, before letting it go again.

“That’s what friends are for.”

“That’s what friends are for.” , Zelena repeated, returning her smile.  



End file.
